After the Texas Legislature passed controversial legislation that limits what students K-12 are taught in the state鈥檚 public schools, the lieutenant governor has now tasked state senators with monitoring similar historical subject matter in higher education.
On a list of 84 interim charges released Monday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick included a directive for the Texas Senate鈥檚 Higher Education Committee to ensure that tenets of what鈥檚 known as critical race theory 鈥� generally described as an academic discipline that examines the roles of race and racism in American history and how they function in law and society 鈥� are not taught in higher education courses. Patrick is also calling for a review of the state鈥檚 policies on granting or revoking tenure for university professors at public institutions, which he during a February debate on critical race theory.
Interim charges generally include a list of tasks that evaluate current legislation but also serve as a blueprint for what lawmakers could consider when they reconvene in Austin. The 88th Texas Legislature will begin in early 2023.
In a charge entitled 鈥淪trengthening United States History Requirements,鈥� Patrick instructs the committee to 鈥淓xamine current course requirements for students in United States History, and ensure elements of Critical Race Theory are not currently included in course curriculum.鈥� It also requests the committee 鈥渃onsider and recommend methods to ensure students receive accurate historical information related to the founding and establishment of the United States.鈥�
Additionally, Patrick wants lawmakers to review whether the boards of regents across Texas have enough authority over decided subject matter and 鈥渕ake recommendations on changes to law to ensure boards of regents have appropriate approval authority related to course content and instruction.鈥�
Banning critical race theory became for conservatives although the theory isn鈥檛 taught in public schools. But the issue led faculty and staff at the University of Texas at Austin to assert its independence on issues related to subject matter. In February, the UT Austin Faculty Council issued a that affirmed 鈥渢he fundamental rights of faculty to academic freedom in its broadest sense, inclusive of research and teaching of race and gender theory.鈥�
Patrick decried the resolution and proposed for future university hires to combat the teaching of critical race theory in higher education.
鈥淲e are not going to allow a handful of professors who do not represent the entire group to teach and indoctrinate students with critical race theory, that we are inherently racist as a nation,鈥� he said at the time. 鈥淲e will change those rules and we will take tenure to be reviewed annually.鈥� Under current policy, tenure is reviewed every six years.
As part of his interim charges, Patrick instructed the committee to study and revise policies related to tenure, including a review of dismissal policies at state colleges and universities and 鈥渕ake recommendations to revise current tenure policies, and provide boards of regents with additional authority to review and address issues with tenured faculty.鈥�
The Texas Faculty Association, a non-profit organization founded to advocate for higher education faculty and staff, said Patrick鈥檚 proposal would be crippling for higher education, Houston Public Media last month.
鈥淚t's an outright attack on higher education," Pat Heintzelman, the association鈥檚 president, told HPM. "We have to fight this at the Legislature, and we鈥檙e going to get started soon. We are starting."
Heintzelman said," tenure requires professors to meet a high bar to ensure they are performing according to expectations."
"They have to fight for tenure. They have to meet the rigorous standards for teaching, research and service, and they still have post tenure review afterward. They鈥檙e held accountable before and after they get tenure," she said.
On the public education front, Patrick ordered the Texas Senate Education Committee to review materials in school libraries and servers. Specially, Patrick wants an assessment of adoption, placement and review policies for materials in libraries to ensure they are age-appropriate and that parents and the public have a 鈥減rominent鈥� role in the selection process.
The charge comes as challenges from the public to school libraries over content have increased, with the majority of the debate involving books on gender, racism and sexuality, the Texas Standard . The challenges follow by state Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, to have school districts across the state to inform him of their book inventories in schools. Krause included on the list about 850 works he thought could 鈥渕ake students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex," NPR .
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